| ROA: | 71 |
|---|---|
| Title: | Direct Optimality Theory: Representation as Constraint Violation |
| Authors: | Chris Golston |
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| Abstract: | Direct Optimality Theory: Representation as Constraint Violation ROA-71 dot.ps, dot-ps.zip dot.rtf, dot-rtf.zip Chris Golston Heinrich-Heine-Universitaet Duesseldorf This paper argues for a model of morphology and phonology, Direct Optimality Theory, in which the phonological form of words is represented directly by constraint violations rather than by strings of segments. I propose a restructuring of Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky 1993) in which two of the five elements of the theory ('UR' and 'SR') are eliminated and the role of a third ('GEN') is reduced; this is done without adding any machinery to the model or reducing its ability to capture significant generalizations. The argument runs as follows: (i) underlying representations are syllabified, (ii) they are relatively ill-formed, (iii) so they can be represented directly in terms of constraint violations. Step (i) brings to its logical conclusion the incorporation of prosody into generative phonology begun in the 1970s and 1980s: prosody is relevant at all phonological levels of description. As will become clear, representation as constraint violation is possible only in a theory of grammar that allows violable constraints. Hence Direct OT. The paper is organized in the following way. Section 1 provides the necessary background to the discussion and an overview of the model and the assumptions it relies on. Section 2 argues that underlying representation includes prosodic information including syllable structure. Section 3 shows in detail how underlying representation can be reduced to constraint violation and section 4 does the same for surface representation and for alternation. Section 5 offers novel solutions for subtractive morphology, affixation and templatic morphology in terms of the theory. Section 6 presents some striking evidence for the theory from speech error patterns. Section 7 compares Direct Optimality theory to some recently proposed alternatives to lexical representation (Hammond 1995, Neef 1995, Russell 1995). The final section offers a short conclusion. Chris Golston Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft Heinrich-Heine-Universitaet Universitaetsstrasse 1 40225 Duesseldorf Germany :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
| Type: | Paper/tech report |
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| Article: | Version 1 |